A Best Friends' Advice
by BonesBird
Summary: Jon and Veronica take a little time away from work to talk, and Veronica passes on the only advice she get. Set during Chapter 16 of the fic "Little By Little"


**So my darling AmeliaElizabeth said she was upset and sad... so I decided I wanted to post something cute and fluffy. This is a chapter that goes in the middle of chapter 16 of "Little By Little". Feel better baby I loves you!**

**Shin xx**

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><p><em><strong>"She didn't like me very much." Sam 'The West Wing'<strong>_

Erika had made a good point when she suggested coming and annoying Veronica. He'd chatted with her about serious things before his meeting, and after the meeting he'd returned to Veronica's office and they sat around reminiscing. Now they had come outside to watch the first term trainees, something they'd all done years ago. He didn't have the bingo card, but he was watching. "Has she just been lapped again?"

He nodded, not paying as much attention as he probably should be. There were other things he was thinking about, but sitting here was comfortable and he was enjoying the company. "Yeah, mark it down. We're getting close."

Jon looked away, back to focusing on the trainees. These officers were, thankfully, more than 2 decades away from his position. Not to mention a lot of training. They needed it. As soon as Veronica finished writing she looked back up to him, and he already knew what was coming. "So, you and Erika are doing better?"

"Yeah, I guess we are." There wasn't really anything else he could say on the subject. He and Erika weren't back to where they'd been at the height of their relationship, but they were doing well, and they were getting stronger. He knew what he wanted, and that was for Erika Hernandez to be in his life for the rest of it. "We've been mostly leaving things unspoken, we're just enjoying things as they happen."

"It's nice that you're both happy again. She's happier than she's been in years." Veronica smiled, and Jon couldn't help but feel a little cheered by that. At least that he'd managed to cheer Erika up. She didn't deserve to be unhappy, and if he could help that he would keep trying. He had a feeling a lot of her unhappiness had been caused by him though, and that was the worst feeling.

Maybe Veronica hadn't been hinting at that, but Jon was pretty sure she actually was. He hadn't ever really addressed the fact they had spent such a long time angry with each other. Or, more accurately, angry at him. Sure Erika had supported his career and told him to take the promotion, but he was sure neither of them had really been prepared for the consequences. "She didn't like me very much for a while, huh?"

Veronica chuckled before shaking her head. "I think she always loved you, but yeah, she didn't like you. Or she was angry at you." That was very possible. More than possible.

"Oh she was definitely angry at me. I know her well enough to know she was angry at me. I was pretty angry at me too." He might as well admit it. He had been furious with himself for taking the promotion, at Erika for not stopping, at Starfleet for offering him the promotion to begin with and almost everyone else too. It had taken plenty of time for him to stop being angry.

"She's playing it coy, saying you're not back together. How about you?" She was fishing, that much was obvious, but Jon still felt he should give her something. She'd been a good friend to them both, and she had been with Erika through the last four years.

"We're working things out. Let's leave it there Ron. Erika will decide in her own time. You know what she's like." It was best, for both of them, that he not say something definitive before Erika was sure. That wouldn't work out well for any of them, least of all him. He needed to look out for himself first. Erika was very deliberate, she always had been. These decisions had to be taken slowly, over time. That was the important thing for her. He refused to push her or rush her, even if it was only by accident.

"I do. Oh look. He fell over. Is that all of it?" Veronica pointed out to the trainees again. Then looked down at the bingo card they'd hastily made up before coming out. He only looked at it for a minute before spotting the missing square.

"It is. We got a bingo." He laughed and high fived his friend.

"We do." Veronica smiled, and after a few minutes the laughter trailed off and she turned to him seriously, and he suddenly realised he was about to be either slapped, or told something important. "Jon, you know that I really am just happy for the two of you. She's not been the same since AG died. They were so close, and they'd made so many plans." Jon had known a few of AG's plans, and they had all had a distinct flare that had told him that Erika had something to do with them. At least something good had come out of that, Erika had been given _Columbia_. If he had the choice, Jon would rather have AG back, but having Erika out there with him was going to be more than a consolation. "Now you're back she's more like herself than I've seen her in more than a year. I know you were hurt by the Expanse, but she was hurt at home. Be gentle." This was not advice he'd needed. Erika might not have admitted it but it had been obvious to him.

"That's my intention Ron. I don't want to push Erika to say or do anything she doesn't want or isn't ready to do." There was simply no other acceptable response to Veronica's advice. He only wanted what was best for Erika, and himself, and everyone else.

Veronica laughed and clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "Good. You know it's my job as her best friend to remind you of that."

"You're a good friend, to both of us. Speaking about Erika, I should probably go see if she is done interviewing officer candidates." He kind of hoped she was, because right now he was just looking forward to seeing her again. He was getting far too used to spending most of his time around her, he was going to need to stop that soon. But he really didn't want to. That was the biggest sign he was ready for more. When Erika told him she was too he'd be the happiest person on the planet.


End file.
